The United States will issue Barn Swallow forever stamped envelopes (single design) March 3 in Reno, Nevada and nationwide. The American Philatelic Society will host a first-day-of-issue ceremony at 11 a.m. at the AmeriStamp Expo show at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, 4590 S. Virginia Street.

The envelope will be issued in different sizes.

Barn Swallow Stamped Envelope

Here are additional details about the envelope from the U.S. Postal Service:

The Postal Service celebrates a favorite backyard bird on this Barn Swallow stamped envelope. It features a large illustration of a barn swallow perching and a smaller illustration above it, showing the bird in flight.

The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) originally nested in caves. As man-made structures began to dot the North American landscape, barn swallows adapted by building their mud nests under the eaves of barns, houses and bridges. Barn swallows are acrobatic flyers, and a single bird can catch and consume thousands of insects in one day.

Art director William J. Gicker designed the stamp with original art by Matthew Frey.

The 10 a.m. February 20 Presidents Day ceremony, free and open to the public, will kick off the 6th Annual Presidents Day Family Festival. There is a fee to enter the library and museum to attend the festival. Children 17 years old and under are free.

Collectors can save and display their collections of 2016 U.S. stamps on attractive, professional album pages, thanks to the American Philatelic Society.

The just-released 24-page album is available for free via the APS website and has a place for every stamp, from the Quilled Paper Heart Love stamp to the 2016 Christmas Nativity stamp.

The pages include a handsome cover featuring the Military Service Crosses stamps and two blank pages at the back for varieties, booklets, souvenir sheets, etc. In between, there are 10 pages for singles or multiple issues — showing all the stamps in full color — and 10 pages of accompanying text that explain and describe each new issue.

When printing your pages we recommend using a heavier bond, acid-free paper for better preservation purposes.

To find the 2016 album, plus other free U.S. stamp albums, including annuals going back to the 2008 releases and topicals (such as state pages, black heritage, or military history), click visit stamps.org/Free-Album-Pages.

Royal Mail has announced its schedule for its “special stamp program” for 2017. Stamps to be issued include castles, birds, windmills, and more. A tentative issuance schedule is found below the press release. Additional stamp issues are anticipated to be announced at a future date.

[Royal Mail January 2, 2017 Press Release]

ROYAL MAIL REVEALS ITS SPECIAL STAMP PROGRAM FOR 2017• Royal Mail’s Special Stamp program commemorates anniversaries and celebrates events relevant to UK heritage and life
• Windsor Castle, the world’s oldest and largest occupied castle and an official residence of HM The Queen, will be celebrated with a set of 10 stamps launched in February• The 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Desert ‘Dessie’ Orchid is included in Racehorse Legends. The stamp set features original artwork of eight champion horses achieving their greatest wins on UK race courses over six decades
• The Wren, the most common UK breeding bird, is included in the Songbirds issue – featuring 10 beautiful birds that herald spring and summer

Royal Mail’s 2017 Special Stamp program is set to showcase the “Best of British” in a range of subjects from some of the greatest racehorses from the past six decades to beautiful birds that herald spring and summer in the UK.

Windsor Castle, the oldest inhabited castle in world and an official residence of HM The Queen, is celebrated with iconic views of both the interior and exterior of the castle. Featured in the set is an image of the world-famous Round Tower that has dominated the Berkshire skyline for over 800 years.

Racehorse Legends will feature eight champion horses that achieved their greatest wins on UK race courses over the last six decades. The stamp issue features original artwork commissioned by Royal Mail of four flat racers and four national hunt horses captured in action during the course of their iconic wins. Included in the stamp issue is Desert ‘Dessie’ Orchid winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1989.

The Songbirds issue in May will present 10 beautiful birds that herald spring and summer in the UK.

2017 Special Stamp Program
January Ancient Britain
February Windsor Castle
April Racehorse Legends
May Songbirds
June Windmills and Watermills
July First World War: 1917
July Landmark Buildings
August Classic Toys
November Christmas

Goodbye 2016 and Welcome 2017! The year 2016 was a very special year for the American Philatelic Society. Two blockbuster events occurred, one expected and one not.

Inverted Jenny, Position 76.

The unexpected was the discovery and successful return in June of an Inverted Jenny airmail stamp (Scott C3a). The stamp, known as Position 76 for its location in an original 1918 sheet of 100, is one of four once owned by Ethel McCoy and stolen in 1955. Though two others had previously been located and another is still missing, it was a pleasure for this stamp to return to the American Philatelic Research Library, which received the rights to the stolen stamps via McCoy’s will.

American Philatelic Research Library.

The expected event was years in the planning and creating. The new 9,000-square-foot American Philatelic Research Library opened at the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. A grand opening for the state-of-the-art facility was held in October.

The APS, celebrating its 130th anniversary, again sponsored two major shows and conventions — the AmeriStamp Expo in Atlanta and StampShow in Portland, Oregon. In addition, the APS played a major role and held a prominent presence at World Stamp Show-NY 2016, the international show held in the United States every 10 years.